Slater vs Slater
by RRatedauthor
Summary: When Slater meets a person he never knew existed, his life is turned upside down.  Can Slater turn it right side up, especially when an old flame and a new one are drawn into the mix?  Mentions of WWE.  Rated M for a reason, folks!
1. Rumors Abound

A.C. Slater, Bayside high's resident jock, paced the hallway outside Mr. Belding's office nervously. He always dreaded the rare occasions when his father showed up at school. He was known around the halls as an adrenaline junkie, high on life, and who never let a high-pressure situation get to him. But this... well Major Slater had 'major'ly disrupted his life on both previous visits: first, wanting to drag him to Hawaii and second, trying to get him to forego college to enroll in a military academy and continue the Slater family name.

If you add Slater's other problem to the mix, then things would really be a mess, but more on that later. What really confused him was the second man he'd seen walk into principal Belding's office with him. Red-haired, pale-skinned, athletic build, he looked like a military man, even though he was not in uniform like his father.

"Still in there?" Zack Morris, the source of Slater's other problem, entered the picture. Leaning against Slater, they both listened to the murmurs from inside the Principal's office, even though neither boy could make out individual words.

"Yeah. I wish they'd hurry it up, Preppie." Slater replied

"You think your Dad is gonna try to take you away again?" Zack asked

"I dunno." Slater seemed crestfallen at the thought of leaving, even more than the last time. "I've only got a couple months before grad, you think he'd really do that?"

"Hey, he's your Dad, remember?" Zack joked

"Thanks a lot, Preppie." Slater mumbled

"Slater, you can come in now."

"Time to face the music..." Zack smiled, motioning to where Belding was holding the door to his office open.

"I wish you could come in with me. I'd rather be outnumbered three to two than three to one." Slater looked to his top rival, and best friend, for support.

"Worst-case scenario you can hide out at my place." Zack offered

"Won't your folks get..."

"Slater, now!" Belding repeated, more forcefully this time.

"Get it over with... we'll talk later." Zack pushed Slater toward the door before their Principal had to drag Slater inside.

...

"I have seen Slater face down the toughest competition Valley has and not flinch, but there is something about his father that just scares the crap out of him. I wish I knew what it was he wanted, so I could find a way to help him. I just hope it's not too late." Zack said.

"Who you talking to Morris?" Belding stuck his head out the door. Apparently sound carries a lot better in one direction at Bayside.

"No one, sir." Zack answered

"Good... shouldn't you be in class right now?"

"I just stopped by my locker to get something I forgot." Would Mr. Belding wonder why, if that was the case, Zack was nowhere near his locker, or let it go?

"Hurry it up, then." Belding seemed to accept his explanation.

...

"Albert..."

The first thing he noticed was the positioning of his father and the other man. His Dad was standing upright, as he usually did, but the younger of the two was seated. If he was military, he was sure in breach of protocol.

"Sir?"

"Would you gentlemen like me to leave so you can discuss this privately?" Mr. Belding offered

"We appreciate the offer..."

"Then I'll be down the hall in the teachers' lounge if you need anything." Belding did leave, but not before he patted Slater on the shoulder as he passed, giving him a wistful smile.

"Son, please be seated." The Major gestured to the other empty chair.

"Sir, if this is about you being transferred again..."

"Sit." The Major repeated in the same even tone. "All will be explained."

Slater sat down and faced his father. Stone-faced, the Major continued.

"Son, I have been keeping a secret from you, your sister, and your mother for many years and it is to the point where not knowing could seriously jeopardize everything our family stands for. I will be telling JB and your mom exactly what I am about to tell you, but for now what you need to know is that this man... is your older brother."

Slater was too shocked to reply right away, which the Major took to mean his son's acceptance.

"I was young, it was my first tour overseas, and like many young men of my generation, I had some dalliances with a member of the fairer sex that I served with. But she recently passed away, leaving me with more than just the son I never knew I had..."

"You cheated on mom?" Slater asked "How could..."

"It was before I married your mother." Major Slater replied "We came to an amicable agreement regarding the infant..."

Slater couldn't help notice how uncomfortable his older brother looked whenever he was mentioned. He knew the feeling real well. Being talked about as if you weren't in the room always annoyed Slater to no end, and when it was your own father that did it made it ten times worse.

"But circumstances have forced me to re-evaluate my priorities. That is all I have to say on the matter for right now, but once I have explained things to your mother and sister, there will be time for questions. For now, I will leave the two of you to get acquainted, while I talk to your principal."

"You're aren't trying to take me away again, are you Sir?"

"After what your friend Morris was willing to do to keep you around, I dare not. No, you will be missing a day or two of school. I will need your help getting him settled in and acquainted with the daily routine."

"He's moving in with us?" The revelations, one on top of the other, were starting to overwhelm him.

"As I said, this will all be discussed in full at a later date. Excuse me." Martin Slater double-timed it out of Belding's office.

"Well..." A.C. stared

"Yeah..." The newest addition to the family seemed as uneasy as he was.

"In all that long-windedness, my Dad never even told me your name."

"Heath."

"Heath Slater, huh? Your mom didn't like initials?"

"Actually, it's Miller. Your Dad didn't want anything to tie him to us, so I kept my mom's name, but I do use it professionally."

"What do you mean?" The name Heath Slater triggered something in the back of his mind, but he couldn't quite recall.

"It's my ring name." Heath answered "I work for World Wrestling Entertainment, nah mean?"

Once Heath had mentioned WWE, it clicked. Slater wasn't a fan, but many of the guys he played football with were. He'd probably heard the name in passing, but that was it.

"I hear you're quite the wrestler yourself." Heath kept the conversation going when it became quite obvious that Slater was still in shock.

"Undefeated this season." A.C. had a quick remark about his wrestling was legit, but bit his tongue. Heath did not look like the kind of guy who took criticism well, especially from someone he'd just met. "So, did Dad tell you about me... well, my family?"

"I found out about two days ago." Heath answered "Believe me, I reacted almost exactly the same way you did. I've just had a bit more time to sort the shit out."

"Yeah. Since The Major wants me to acquaint you with the daily routine, first word of advice is: the old man hates swearing..."

"Oh... well, fuck that. I'll just make sure he ain't around."

Slater chuckled. He was starting to loosen up to the idea of having an older brother.

"I guess you'll find out anyway, but I'm starting at Bayside tomorrow." Heath stood and stretched.

"Here? But I thought you worked for WWE?"

"Long story. Let's just say that I'm an army brat just like you and I never graduated high school. I only need half a year and Vince McMahon isn't too crazy about high-school dropouts. Like I said, long story... I'll tell you all of it some other time. Which way is the teachers' lounge?"

"Down the hall." Slater pointed

"Cool. I'll see you at home. Later, Slater."

The final bell rang just as they parted. He watched his brother head for the teachers' lounge, wondering if this was some sort of test by his father or if he really did have a longed for older brother.

At the door, Heath waved. A.C. waved back, but then realized that he wasn't alone. He quickly folded his arms, trying to look carefree.

"Who was that?"

It took Slater a few seconds to process that the comment was directed at him.

"Huh?"

"Who was that?" Zack was back.

"Just someone from the past. Nothing to worry about, Preppie." Slater replied

"Okay. We're goin' to the Max. You in?" In the intervening seconds, Kelly, Lisa, Jessie, and unfortunately Screech had joined the circle.

"Not this time. I got a family commitment."

"Slater turning down food? Are you feeling alright?" Screech grabbed his arm and starting groping for a pulse.

"I'm fine Screech." Slater yanked his arm away. "I just have something to do, okay. I'll explain it later." He left before his friends were able to press him for any more details.

"Zack, what's going on?" Jessie asked

"Beats me. All I know is it has something to do with his father."

"His father?" Lisa repeated "As in Major Slater?"

"Yeah, he, Slater, and Belding had a meeting earlier..."

"You don't think his dad is taking him away again?" Jessie seemed horrified at the thought. "I mean, he said no once, right?"

"I'm sure if that was it, Slater would've told us... right?" Kelly interjected "Right?"

"Just give him his space. He said he'd explain later." Zack added, shaking his head. His friends did tend to blow things out of context. "Let's just go to the Max and chill out, okay."

Zack knew that chilling out wasn't going to happen and he was right. The entire time they were there, the only topic of conversation was Slater's as yet unknown problem. For at least one of them, 'later' wouldn't come quickly enough.

...

That night's dinner was one of the most tense situations Slater had ever witnessed. No sooner had the dishes been cleared than his dad, in true Major fashion, had called the entire family together in the living room, and explained the situation again. It made A.C. wonder why he'd been told earlier. It would've made at least part of his day a lot less stressful, not that this was a picnic.

His mom had run up the stairs and her loud sobbing had echoed back down to the main floor. His sister had glared at his father, then run up afterward. Finally, the Major had left to do damage control, leaving A.C. and Heath alone, staring at each other.

"Damn." Heath looked really uncomfortable.

Even Slater had to admit feeling a little sorry for the other man. "Don't sweat it. They'll work things out. They always do."

"You think I made a mistake?"

"If anything, the Major made the mistake." Slater answered

"A major mistake, huh?" Heath finally cracked a smile. Despite the seriousness of the situation, they both started to laugh and continued to until a thunderous bang startled both of them.

"What was that?" Heath had nearly jumped out of the chair, his skin, and everything else.

"Thunder." Slater pointed outside where a heavy curtain of rain was falling.

"But it was sunny ten minutes ago." Heath stated

"The weather around here can be a real pain." A.C. answered "Storms are sudden, severe, and can last a long time."

That's when with an even louder bang, followed by a sizzle, lightning struck a transformer on the end of the block, plunging the entire neighborhood into darkness.

"Son, get the candles and flashlights." The Major's voice drifted down the eerily-silent stairs.

"Yes, sir." Heath remained in his chair while Slater got a pair of flashlights and candles. "I hope you brought extra clothes to sleep in. It's gonna be a freezing night."

"Freezing? Here?" Heath couldn't believe his ears. This was Cali, after all, right?

"We're so close to the water, it gets pretty darn cold at night." A.C. explained

"I guess that's why they call it Bayside, right?" Heath answered, accepting this as he had everything else that had happened that day. "The Major tell you I'm sharing your room tonight?"

Slater groaned. Sharing space in the bedroom was not something he was real good at and the partial reason he and Jessie were on-again, off-again so often. When Jessie seemed to give off the vibe that she was ready to take that 'step', Slater always found himself saying or doing something to cause a temporary split. Their friends thought it was Slater's male-dominance fighting with Jessie's liberal spirit and even after the cut-day incident, everyone expected them to get back together romantically. The reason why this hasn't happened is known only to one person.

Since the break-up, Slater had been fighting with his own self. He knew Jessie wanted him back, but he couldn't string her along. A.C. Slater may be seen as a lot of thing, male chauvinist pig amongst them, but he couldn't hurt Jessie by making her think there was a chance for reconciliation, when there wasn't.

You see, A.C. Slater had a crush on someone else and that someone was Zack Morris.


	2. Stormy Weather

When someone says the name 'Los Angeles' to you, what comes to mind? Palm trees, beaches, nice weather, right? You sure as hell don't think about freezing your ass off in sub-zero temperatures.

But that was exactly what was happening, thanks to a freak storm that had knocked out all electricity. Wind gusts of up to eighty mph were responsible for the severe drop in temperature.

Slater was used to sleeping with just a light blanket and a pair of sweat pants, not three heavy blankets, a quilt, and full pajamas. On the floor beside his bed, Heath was barely keeping warm in one of the sleeping bags that family kept stored in case of unexpected company.

After ten minutes of listening to Heath shivering, Slater had enough.

"You cold?" He asked, trying his best not to make it sound any more sarcastic than it had to.

"Y-y-ya think?" Heath's teeth chattered "If this keeps up, I'm gonna move to Florida."

"Climb in." Slater lifted one side of the blankets an inch or two.

"What?" Heath asked

"We'll use the sleeping bag as an extra blanket. Now climb in." Slater let the covers drop. Even that little bit of heat disappearing was too much. "Just don't say anything to the guys at school, deal?"

"If you promise not to say anything to the guys in the WWE." Even in the almost pitch-black, the only light was from the moon, Slater could still make out Heath's features. They were so unlike his own, Slater decided that he must take after his own Mom.

"Deal. Now get in here."

Heath scrambled out of his sleeping bag and quickly unzipped it to use as a top sheet. The room temperature was barely in the mid-fifties, but Heath still took his time to grab his pillow and a small cuddly object.

"Not a word about the bear, either." He whispered, climbing in slowly despite the cold. It was almost as if he liked torturing himself before enveloping himself in the warmth of the bed since he kept parts of his body outside until he'd made himself comfortable. Needless to say, this was wearing on Slater's patience.

"Get in before the world knows about the bear." Slater taunted him.

It wasn't meant as a threat, but Heath took it seriously enough. In seconds, the blankets were snug and warmth was returning to Slater, but sleep wasn't.

"Is it a boy or a girl?" Slater asked

"What?"

"The bear. Is it a boy or a girl? If I'm sharing sleeping arrangements, I sorta like to know the sex of everybody."

"It's a boy. His name's Justin." Heath answered, looking away in his embarrassment.

"Looks like we got a regular sausagefest goin' on." Slater rolled onto his back.

Heath chuckled. "Ya know it, baby..."

"Just stay on your side of the bed. That goes for the bear as well."

"Awwww... Justin likes you." Heath tickled Slater's nose with the furry animal.

"Dude, not cool." Slater flicked at the bear.

"Sorry."

They both stared at the ceiling in silence for a while, trying to think of some thread of conversation that would put their minds off how cold it was.

"You got a girlfriend?" Heath suddenly asked. The abruptness of the question surprised Slater, and also made him a little nervous.

"Not really." He finally answered

"Boyfriend?" Heath asked the one question A.C. had wished he never would. But at least he could answer him honestly, right?

"Uhhh..."

"Dude, it's totally cool if you do. There are a couple guys I worked with who are gay, and probably a few more that I don't know about." Heath interjected "But it's none of my business."

"That's right, man." Slater answered, a little too much base in his voice. "Sorry dude, I didn't mean... I mean... you got a girlfriend, right?"

Heath took the turn in topics for what it was. "Nope. Just me and Justin right now."

"There's a lot of hot babes at Bayside..."

"Bit young, dontcha think?" Heath rolled onto his side.

"The younger the better." Slater answered

"I guess. I've never had a relationship that got to the stage of thinking she was my girlfriend." Heath sighed

"What? You're kiddin', right?"

"I wish. I mean, there's been a couple of chicks in the biz who wanted a piece of the one-man rock band, but other than a kiss and a couple other things, I haven't found the girl for me." Heath exhaled. It was cold enough to see.

"Oh." Slater answered "Sorry, man, I guess I shouldn't be assuming stuff considerin' we just met."

"Whatever." Heath answered

"So, don't take this the wrong way either, but what, um, have you done with a girl?" It was cold enough that a blush wouldn't have bothered Slater.

"You mean sexually, dontcha?" Heath looked at him, eyebrow cocked quizzically.

"Well..." _How to answer this without sounding like a total perv... _"I guess... I mean, you don't have to answer."

"Tell ya what. I'll answer you, but you gotta answer my question."

"Deal." The word was out of A.C.'s mouth before his mind had a chance to ponder exactly what that might entail.

"Since you wanna know, there was this one diva who bugged and bugged me until I agreed to go for a drink with her after the show..." From that line, Heath launched into a very explicit story about the girl, and all the different ways she'd attempted to get into his pants.

"...and basically I came just so I could put my clothes on and get the hell out of there." Heath answered

"Wow!" Slater sighed. Heath's tale had sent the blood flowing down south. "That was one determined mama."

"Too determined. If a chick is that desperate, then it usually ain't worth it. I don't do trophy fucks and I sure won't be one." Heath answered "Although you could argue just that."

"Yeah." Slater rolled onto his side to face Heath. "So what do you want to ask me?"

Heath looked directly into Slater's eyes. He had a question all ready, but something stopped him.

"Well?" Slater asked "You gonna ask me or what?"

"Don't worry about it. It really is none of my business." Heath rolled over and his even breathing told Slater that he had fallen asleep rather quickly.

"Weird, bro. Really weird." Slater closed his eyes and even with the raging storm outside, also fell asleep in moments.

...

Heath's first day at Bayside. Driving to school, Slater wondered why his brother didn't just take a few courses through the mail if that's all he needed.

"One more thing, bro." Slater finally decided to quell his thoughts, even though they were less than three blocks from the school.

"Whassat?" Heath asked

"Why?" Slater asked, the rest of the question getting lost somewhere.

"Why what?"

"Y'know, this... coming back here. I mean, you could've just gone on and only the Major would've known." Waving his arms around was not the clearest way to demonstrate the magnitude of what Slater saw as his life getting messed up, but it got his point across. At least he hoped it did.

"I didn't know myself until your father, our father" Heath corrected his mistake when Slater frowned at him. "contacted my mother. I guess they'd agreed when you were old enough to understand, they'd tell all of us at the same time."

"I still don't get it. Why wait until I was old enough?" The longer he talked, the more questions he had.

"That you will have to ask Dad about." Pulling into the school lot ended the conversation rather abruptly, a fact which Heath was thankful for. He hated answering lots of questions, especially one that he didn't have a real good answer for.

"But going to Bayside? Couldn't you have just done it through the mail?" This was the other thing about the arrangement that bothered Slater.

"Again, ask the Major." Heath shrugged "You're gonna hafta help me out, bro. I didn't exactly get a tour the last time I was here."

"You got a schedule?" Slater asked

"Yeah. It's in my bag somewhere." Heath shrugged. "I'll dig it out once we get inside."

"Cool." Inside seemed like a good place to be. The normal temperatures had not returned and the weatherman on the car radio had even used the s-word to describe what might be coming.

"F'in cold is more like it." Heath joked "I thought this was supposed to be California. Palm trees, surfing, air conditioning being a welcome friend. This reminds me of Toronto in March."

They stepped inside just to hear the end of Mr. Belding making an announcement. The Bayside student body seemed to all be paying attention to it, something that was both rare and not good.

"You made it!" Despite no longer being together, Jessie still greeted Slater with a hug.

"Of course. Why wouldn't we?" Both Slaters looked confused for a moment, then one's attention was distracted by a certain girl. Heath could not take his eyes off Kelly, a fact that was not lost on Slater. He gave Heath a 'don't go there' stare while he waited for Jessie to let him go.

"What's Belding going on about?" A.C. asked

"Something about rolling blackouts." Zack answered

"He said that the storm had knocked out several power stations and to conserve, the city was going to be shutting down the power grid to parts of the town at different times." Screech explained

To accentuate the point, the lights in the school flickered and, to make the point crystal-clear, Mr. Belding came over the public address system once again.

"I guess it's gonna be us sooner than later. Therefore, I am canceling classes for today and I would suggest that everyone get home as soon as possible." He stated "Those of who you do not have your own transportation, something will be arranged."

"I guess the tour will have to wait, eh?" Heath joked

It was kinda creepy being in the school, with the lights flickering constantly, so not many people had to be told twice about getting home. Especially with more storms being forecast.

"If you all live close to my bro, I can drive ya's." Heath offered, noticing the looks of concern being given the current weather patterns.

"Cool." Zack quickly answered. The others chimed in their agreement.

"With no further discussion, or even time for it, the seven ran outside to Heath's car.

"Are we all gonna fit into that?" Lisa asked "It looks a little small."

"You can sit on my lap." Screech suggested

"In your dreams, dweeb." She swatted the back of his head.

The brothers grabbed the front two seats and the other five managed to squeeze into the back. Despite Heath's ability to drive at twice the speed limit without killing anyone in their car, any other car, pedestrian, or cow, they barely had time before the storms started again to drop off Kelly, Zack, Lisa, Screech and Jessie and get back home. In fact, the two blocks between the last drop off and Slater's house took longer than the trip to school less than one hour earlier.

"I haven't seen weather this weird since that volcano erupted in Europe." Heath took one last look at the sky before scrambling into the house, A.C. close at his heels.

"I hate this weather." Slater complained

"Like, yeah." Heath answered, kicking his shoes off and dashing upstairs.

"What's the rush?" A.C. followed

"Gotta check on Justin. Thunderstorms scare him." Heath replied

Slater almost tripped on the stairs, so astounded by Heath's answer was he. Once he regained his footing, he decided against saying anything and instead, followed Heath into the bedroom they'd shared the night before.

"Why were you giving me that look at school?" Heath asked, straightening Justin's fur before setting him on top of the bed.

"What look?" Slater was too weirded out by the whole bear-thing to understand where Heath was coming from.

"You know what look." Heath answered "All I did was stare at that girl..."

"Yeah... that girl happens to belong to Preppie... I mean Zack." Slater answered

"Oh." Heath answered, sounding a little sad at the news. "She's kinda hot."

"Yeah, but she's taken and unless you want problems, you'll just drop it." Slater answered_._

"Yes, sir." Heath answered sharply, but something in his exaggerated formality made Slater nervous. Not for Heath, because he was build solidly enough to take care of himself. Not for Kelly, because if she wasn't interested she would just tell him off, hurt feelings or not. No, his nervousness was caused by the realization that if Heath did get the girl, then Slater might be able to get what he'd wanted for months upon months.

_I can't let him get between Zack and Kelly... or can I?_


	3. Tough Choices

**Sorry for the delay on this, but I had to watch the original series from start to finish before I could publish this so I could get the characters somewhat accurate. I never realized how much sexual tension there was between Zack and Slater. I hope this meets with approval... feel free to review (or flame where appropriate).**

Slater was dreaming. He was rolling in the sand with Zack, getting both of their naked bodies completely covered with grit. He could hear the pounding of the surf, as well as both of their heartbeats. There was friction, sweat, and such intricate detail that Slater was sure that he'd remember even the smallest of sights, sounds, or smells.

The scene started to fade and Slater snapped awake with a groan. It was morning already and not only did he not want to wake up, but he was sporting serious wood that needed to be taken care of immediately. Grabbing a towel, he dashed across the hall into the bathroom just in case anyone else happened by.

Stepping under the shower spray, he quickly inundated his body. The weather had done a complete turnaround since yesterday afternoon. The rolling blackouts were also a thing of the past, so life in Bayside was slowly returning to normalcy. The same could not be said for Slater's raging hormones. He'd done a good job of keeping his lust for Zack a secret, but something had happened since Heath's arrival to make even that very difficult.

He banged his head against the tile, trying to drive the sexy thoughts that were making his cock twitch out of his mind.

"Fuck..." he groaned softly, the combination of the hot water, and his hormones driving his mind crazy. Looking down at his swollen penis, he could almost see Zack on his knees in front of him, his mouth eagerly gobbling every inch of his meat.

"Suck it, Preppie..." He whispered, thrusting his groin forward even though the only other person involved was sadly just in his mind. "Yeah..."

He gripped his slippery cock with shaking fingers and began to stroke himself, mimicking the feel of a wet mouth with his hand. Leaning against the wall, he gave himself completely over to the feelings his body was responding to. Usually his masturbations were quick and frantic, and this time was no exception. That feeling in the pit of his stomach that usually meant he was almost to orgasm had started almost as soon as he touched himself.

"Oh yeah..." Slater groaned, his heart racing and the blood pounding in his veins. His chest tightened, and he came hard, splattering the walls with his semen.

His post-orgasmic bliss was shattered by a loud banging on the bathroom door.

"You gonna steal all the hot water?" At least it wasn't his father.

"I'll be out in a second." Since he'd already dealt with his morning problem, he was much more nonchalant about wrapping himself in his towel.

"It's all yours." He elbowed Heath, who was leaning with eyes closed against the opposite wall, as he passed. "If you're awake, that is."

"Sorry, man. Sleep was not my friend last night." Heath yawned against his hand.

"Oh? Homesick?" Slater joked, but the response was not what he'd expected.

"I wish. You were moaning in your sleep. I'm surprised you didn't wake yourself up."

"Yeah, right... dude, you must've been dreaming." Slater replied

"Nah, I heard it all... every word." Heath answered "But don't worry, I won't tell no one." He winked as he stepped past to use the bathroom. "Not even Zack."

_Oh, __crap..._

Slater's heart dropped somewhere near his left kidney. He tried to look cool, but they both knew that it was what it was. He scurried into the shared bedroom and hurriedly dressed, hoping that maybe he could be at least ready to go before Heath even finished showering. His brain was already coming up with excuses why he needed to leave. An early-morning wrestling practice? Yeah, that would work. At least it would have worked had he spent less time thinking and more time getting ready.

"I've been thinking, bro."

_Son of a... how does he do that?_

Slater whirled around. Heath was staring at him, a semi-serious, partially-amused expression on his wet face.

"Oh." Slater again attempted to put on a cool facade and once more, Heath saw right through it.

"Yeah... I mean, I don't really care if you're into this Zack guy. I know where I stand on gays and if that's who you are, fine. It's just not my scene. But while I was showering, and dude you really need to aim better, I did my own thinking. I don't see why we both can't get what we want out of this."

"What do you mean?"

"You want Zack and I wouldn't mind a piece of that chick he's with. If they were no longer an item, we could both... y'know..."

"You mean break them up?" Slater could not believe what his brother was suggesting.

"You make it sound so dirty." Heath hunted around for a clean pair of pants.

"But Zack's my friend! I couldn't screw him over like that!" Slater shouted

"You don't have to. Let the evil big brother do all the work, then you become the knight in shining armour and hopefully Zack realizes that he can have a lot more with you than whatever she's giving him."

"I don't know... it still seems dishonest." Despite being given a means to the end, Slater was still extremely skittish about what Heath was suggesting.

"It's not dishonest." Heath answered "It's just a case of being economical with the truth. Think it over and let me know."

"What happens if I say no?"

"Then I still go after Kelly, Zack probably ends up hating your guts as well, and you'll spend the rest of your high school life jerking off in the shower wondering what might have been." Heath shrugged into a tight black t-shirt. "But the choice is yours."

...

Slater found it almost impossible to concentrate during any of his classes, which lead to him almost gluing two of his fingers together as well as 'accidentally' welding his sleeve to his worktable and that was just for starters.

"You seem to be a little off today, Mr. Slater." The shop teacher said concernedly, but with a hint of humour in his voice.

"Sorry, sir. Just got a lot on my mind."

Heath, who happened to be passing by the open doorway, chuckled to himself. _He__'__s __gonna __have__ a __lot__ more__ on __his __mind __before __today__'__s__ done,__if__ I__ have __anything __to__ say __about __it._

"Then I guess we should be thankful that class is almost over. Just a reminder that all project requests must be in by Monday at the latest. Dismissed."

Slater stuffed his books into his bag, thankful that today was over. He was looking forward to going home, and crashing on his bed while he did his homework. Three steps out of the classroom and he realized that idea was shot.

"Hey, Slater... we're hitting The Max... you in?" The one person Slater wanted to avoid, at least until he came to a decision about whether or not he was going along with Heath, and his favorite girl were waiting for him.

"Uh..."

"C'mon, you look like you need a break." Damn Zack and his persistence. Normally this wasn't an issue.

"I'd love to but I got a lot of homework to do."

Zack pshhhed, like the whole idea of actually doing homework was foreign to him. "Dude, you'll have tons of time to do that..."

"Hey, if he doesn't wanna join us, that's fine." Kelly added "People do have a life outside of you."

Slater was thankfully for Kelly being the voice of reason, but he really didn't feel the need to justify being anti-social for once in his life. But that gave him an idea...

"Why don't you guys take Heath for burgers and fries?" Slater hoped that didn't sound like a ditch to them as much as it did to his own ears. "Maybe get to know him a little better."

Zack did not seem to enthused about that idea, was it possible that he was already getting ideas about Heath and Kelly? If it was, the idea was soon slammed by Kelly.

"Works for me." That ended the discussion, even if Zack still looked unhappy.

"Don't worry Preppie, you can hang around me like the lost puppy you are some other time." Slater could not resist throwing a little extra pepper into the convo. "I really gotta split. Tell Heath I'll see him at home."

Slater quickly left the building. Outside, he took a few minutes to slow down his racing heart. With each day that went by, Zack was having more of an effect on him and it was getting harder to control himself. He was afraid that if Heath's plan didn't work, he'd still end up ravishing Zack in the gym locker room or under the stadium bleachers and thoughts like that usually sent the blood flowing to the wrong places. With the clothes he wore or, heaven forbid, the grey gym uniform, that would definitely not be cool.

Slater sprinted home. Maybe the exercise would be good for him. Maybe...

...

The gang, sans Slater, had been chilling at The Max for the better part of an hour. After Heath had spilled his life story to Zack, Kelly, and the others, conversation had drifted from that topic to school to Lisa's shopping sprees to Jessie's latest cause, then back to Heath.

"What's it like being a wrestler?" Jessie asked

"It's a living." Heath sighed; not because he was bored, but because he was quite honestly having a hard time paying attention to someone other than Kelly. It reminded him of another Kelly, one he worked with, only she looked like she had half a brain.

Heath's preoccupation was not unnoticed by at least one other person at the table and Zack was not happy about it at all. Part of him wanted to say something, but he did not want to cause a scene, nor did he want to cause problems with Slater. He filed this away for something to talk to him about when he got the chance. For now, he just smiled and pretended to be enjoying his french fries.

Eventually, the group ran out of things to talk about and collectively parted ways.

"What the hell was that about?" Zack pulled Kelly aside after they'd said their good-byes.

"What was what about?" Kelly was a little surprised at Zack's tone and his use of force.

"I saw the way Heath was looking at you." Zack growled

"So?" Kelly shrugged "Maybe he was just trying to be friendly. After all, he is new here."

"Sure. That's about as possible as Screech trying out for the football team. I don't want you anywhere near him unless I'm around."

"Zack, I can take care of myself." Kelly yanked her arm from Zack's grip. "Frankly it's none of your business who I hang out with."

"Kelly, I'm your boyfriend. I'm just trying..."

"I know what your TRYING to do, and it's not necessary. I am not interested in anyone else and honestly, I'm a little surprised. I thought you knew me better than that."

Her stern look was enough to make Zack think that maybe he had read too much into what he'd seen at the Max. "Kelly, I just don't want you to get hurt." Usually, that line worked.

"The only person who is going to get hurt around here is you if you try a stunt like that again. Now if you'll excuse me, I have other things I need to do."

"Can I at least drive you home?" Zack offered, trying to atone for, in at least Kelly's mind, being a total clown.

"You've done enough Zack. I will see you tomorrow." Kelly stuck her nose in the air and walked away, leaving one very confused preppie standing by himself.

...

Slater was trying to make sense of his math homework, and was failing at it. There was just something about sines, cosines, tangents, that just made his head hurt more than anything else. He was just about to the point of tossing his text against a wall when Heath burst into his room.

"Are you in or out?" He asked, looking very pleased with himself.

"What, no hello?" Slater rolled his eyes

"Yeah, yeah, yeah... hello, bro. Are you in or out?" Heath returned the eye-roll. "Cause dude, Kelly is mine."

"Mine? You mean you broke them up already?"

'Not exactly. But the babe couldn't keep her eyes off me. That boyfriend of hers looked like he wanted to jump across the table." Heath straddled a chair. "It's just a matter of time before she be mine and preppie-boy's cute behind will be all yours for the taking. If you're in, of course."

Was he in? That was the sixty-four thousand dollar question. It only took a moment for the answer to travel from the sex-starved part of his brain to his mouth.

"Stupid question, bro... of course I am."


	4. The First Move

Across town, Zack was having the same troubles focusing on his assignments as Slater, and not for totally different reasons. Every time he let his mind wander, he replayed the conversation with Kelly. Was he reading too much into Kelly's friendship with Heath? After all, it was highly unlikely that she'd end their relationship for a guy she'd known for less than a week, right? Right?

Zack quickly checked off his options... talk to Kelly? No, that would only make matters worse at this point in time. Talk to Heath? If he knew a way to turn on the Morris charm without Slater's brother getting suspicious, that might seem like the logical approach. But Zack wasn't the most logical person at Bayside; ask ninety-nine percent of the staff and students.

"Slater... he wouldn't screw with my relationship with Kelly. Maybe he can help me out?" Zack reached for his cordless phone.

...

The law firm of Slater and Slater's discussions had been revolving around Heath's plans to get into Kelly's pants, which would hopefully lead to A.C. getting into Zack's, when the phone rang on their end.

"Yo Preppie, what's up?"

Heath's brows furrowed and he made a slashing motion across his throat. Wordlessly, his brother told him to chill it out.

"Problems with Kelly? Dude, I wasn't there so I really don't know what... dude, I've known him as long as you have; I'm pretty sure he wouldn't put either of us in that kind of situation... well Kelly is good looking, but... Morris, I'm pretty certain that you're over-reacting to stuff... I'll meet you for lunch at The Max and we'll talk then... trust me, Preppie, everything's going to be fine." Slater hung up the phone and turned to Heath.

"So much for Morris." He said

"What he say?"

"Apparently they had a huge argument after leaving the Max." Slater stated "Maybe you were a little too enthusiatic?"

"Maybe Zack needs to be less possessive?" Heath responded with a sneer and a question of his own. "Can I help it if all the babes want the One Man Rock Band for themself?"

"Maybe you should go after one of them then instead of picking on my best friend's?"

"Cold feet, huh?" Heath said "Too bad it's too late for that."

"What do you mean?" 

"Bro, I told you what was going to happen if you backed out. Nothing's changed. I suggest you know your role and play along." Any trace of fun was gone from Heath.

"Maybe I tell Zack what's been going on?"

"Let me put this another way. Within a week, I'll guaran-damn-tee you that you'll be able to do things with Zack that you've only dreamed of. Wouldn't you like to walk into the showers after gym class and press that body up against a wall and give him pleasure like no other?" Heath was smiling, but it was a sarcastic smile.

"But I don't know if I can..."

"Of course you can, bro... I'm doing all the work here. Those grey gym shorts you guys wear leave very little to the imagination, so I can guess what he looks like naked." Heath folded his arms. "Am I right or am I right... you don't have to answer, I can already see that I'm right."

Slater looked down. He was hard. _Fuck!_

"Seriously bro, I got everything under control." Heath slammed his books closed and rolled off the bed. "And right now, it looks like you need to get yourself under control, so I'll leave you to it."

Slater glared at his brother's back. To say he was torn in two was understating it. It was to the point where he spent half the time cursing his brother for getting him into this mess and hte other half of the time thinking about what would happen when and if he was able to get with Zack.

"When did love get so complicated?" Reaching to unzip his fly, Slater was soon lost in his fantasies.

...

A much more relaxed Slater absently tapped the menu, waiting for Zack to arrive at the Max. He knew Zack was going to do much of the talking, so all he had to do was sit back and play the role of best friend. Listen, and try not to get lost in Morris' eyes. That last part was going to be the tough one.

"You sure you don't wanna order something?" Max stepped in-shot. "You've been staring at that menu since you got here."

"I'm waiting for Morris." Slater stated

"Ah... girl problems again." Max nodded "I'll bring you a milkshake while you wait."

...

After the episodes of the previous evening, Zack did not have that uneasy feeling that his relationship with Kelly was at a crossroads. It was more like a railroad crossing, and he was standing on the tracks watching an express bore down on him. Was he reading too much into things? Was he overreacting? He had hoped to have this conversation over the phone last night, but a meeting at the Max was going to have to do. He just hoped that Slater hadn't stood him up.

He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw his friend sitting at their usual table and he even cracked a smile when he noticed his face buried in a milkshake.

"Preppie!" He saluted

Slater raised his eyebrows in a "take a seat and let's talk" kind of gesture. Max started to head toward them with menus, but Slater waved him off. Max nodded discreetly; he'd been in the business long enough to know when teenagers needed their space.

Zack and Slater stared at each other for the longest time, neither man being able to say what was on their mind. Eventually, both let out long sighs and immediately looked at each other.

"You gonna tell me exactly what happened or sit there looking like you just lost your best friend?" Slater finally composed himself long enough to give voice to one of the questions nagging at him. Heath hadn't exactly been a fountain of information the previous evening and Zack's over-the-phone ramblings were incoherent at best.

"You know how much I love Kelly, right?" Zack finally spoke up.

"Dumb question, Preppie." Slater replied and immediately wished he'd chosen different words. "I mean, y'know... what I meant to say was..."

Zack stopped him in mid-apology. "I've known you long enough, Slater. It's cool. I mean, we're best friends..."

"And..." Although he knew where the talk was going, part of him wanted to hear Zack say it.

"I think your bro is trying to split us up." Zack stared at a crack in the linoleum tabletop, looking like he wanted to crawl into it and die.

"Like I told you, Preppie, I wasn't there. What exactly happened?"

Zack took one last deep breath and told Slater everything that had happened. A.C. knew some of it, Heath having been a little forthcoming, but some of Zack's tale should've made him angry. Several times Slater had to remind himself what he was getting out of this deal just to maintain himself.

"That doesn't make a lot of sense, Morris. Heath hasn't been around for very long, but do you really think that the first thing he'd do is try to split up two of his brothers best friends?" Not the most grammatically correct thing to say, but at least it didn't sound as rehearsed as some of the other lines currently trying to make it from Slater's brain to his mouth.

"You think I'm wrong?" Zack asked

"Yeah, I do." Slater reached for his almost empty milkshake glass and choked down the last few drops. "You talked to Kelly about this?"

"Not since the argument." Zack admitted "I was gonna call her last night, but..."

Slater nodded. _But you called me..._

"I'm not sure what I can do. I mean, I'll talk to Heath if you want, but the dude seems to jave his own agenda. Probably, the best thing to do is talk to Kelly and maybe explain your side of things."

"I tried that." Zack cradled his chin in his palm. "That's what started the last argument."

Three familiar voices interrupted the guy-talk, but before Screech, Lisa, and Jessie (no Kelly... what a surprise) sat down, Slater had one final suggestion.

"Meet me in the locker room after class. I got an idea."

Zack nodded.

"Hey Mama, what's new?"

Jessie gave Slater one of her looks of disapproval, but that quickly turned into a round of good-natured teenage banter. Add Max with menus and all traces of the earlier chat soon were pushed to the backs of Zack and Slater's minds. With one small question, though: where was Miss Kelly?

...

"Dammit, Zack, I wish you'd stop trying to always act like we're married." Kelly stood at her locker, throwing books into a pile at the bottom. Usually very lady-like, the mild language showed just how mad she was at Zack.

"Problems in paradise?" Kelly spun around when she recognized Heath's voice.

"Like you didn't know?" She barked in reply.

"I honestly thought your boyfriend was smart enough to recognize innocent teasing and not go all up in my grill, if you get my meaning." Heath leaned against the nearest locker and looked into her eyes.

"Yeah, well..."

"And you weren't exactly telling me to shut up, either." Heath added, turning his head sideways.

"But Zack and I are..."

"So, I'm thinkin' that maybe you enjoyed the extra attention." Heath pursed his lips, then ran his tongue across the lower one.

"Just leave me alone!" Kelly shouted "I love Zack and Zack loves me!" To make her point, she slammed her locker closed and stormed away.

Heath watched her leave, her sensible shoes kicking up little puffs of dirt in her wake.

"If you say so, babe." Heath smirked. _It might be time to move on to plan B._

...

Zack had Phys. Ed. last class, so Slater's suggestion as to a meeting place was less of an ulterior motive and more a matter of convenience. At least that's what he kept telling himself while trying to pay just enough attention during math to not walk out with a raging boner. It was't working as well as he'd hoped and when the final buzzer did sound, Slater ended up leaving the classroom still semi-hard.

He jogged to his locker to drop off his books, then made a straight line toward the gym. He'd known Zack long enough to know that he liked to take his time getting what he called 'his look' perfected. He was almost always the last person finished. Normally this was a mild annoyance at least, but today it was going to work to Slater's advantage.

Slater watched a stream of young males exit the gymnasium. Zack was not among them, to his relief. The pessimistic side of Slater kept rambling that today would be the one day that Zack would rush through his hygiene rituals and be the first one out, despite promising to meet.

_Calm, Slater... you're not going to get into his pants today, so there's no sense running in like a bitch in heat._

"You decent Preppie?" Slater shouted into what he hoped was an almost-deserted locker room. Facing facts, it wouldn't matter if Zack was naked.

"More than decent." Zack called back.

Slater loped in, following the sound of Zack's voice to the very back of the changing areas. His buddy was still in his gym greys, the shirt stained darker from his exertions.

"I thought you would've been dressed to kill by now." Slater hoped the gentle gibe would loosen the mood, and also calm his raging hormones. There was something about the Bayside High gym uniform that got Slater bad. Especially when it was worn by a certain student named Zack Morris.

"Please. I have the Zack Morris look to perfect, y'know." Zack grabbed a towel and flung in onto the closest bench, followed by a plethora of hair and skin products. "We're talking now?"

"If you want to." Slater replied, sitting down on the opposite bench.

"Yeah... what's your idea?"

"My what?" Slater asked

"At the Max, you said you had an idea... what is it?" Zack put his foot up on the bench and untied his gym shoe.

"Well, it's real simple. You..." Slater totally forgot what he was going to say. The simple movement of Zack raising his leg gave Slater an unimpeded view of what was up Morris' gym shorts. At least as far as a pair of boxers.

Blood rushed to his temples, his dick, and his face all at the same time.

"Y'okay?" Zack queried, repeating the action with the other shoe. Slater's face felt like it was on fire. It was all he could do to nod his head.

"Cool... you spaced on me for a moment there."

_Oh God, what if he undresses completely?... I won't be able to control myself!_

"Sorry... I think I'm coming down with something." Slater offered the feeblest of excuses, one that if he were in Zack's shoes, he wouldn't believe for a moment. Apparently Zack was feeling a bit more understanding so he simply nodded, stripping off his shoes, then sitting down on the bench to remove his socks.

"Well don't send it my way. I got enough shit on my plate right now." Zack tossed the sweaty socks into his bag, then added his shirt. It was a bare-chested Zack who finally brought the topic around. "If you got any ideas about Kelly, I'd like to hear them."

_Yeah, like get rid of her and get with you!_

"You gotta make Kelly realize that there is no one who can treat her better than you." Slater's mouth was saying all the right words for the situation, but all the wrong ones for the plan that Heath had so carefully worked out. "You gotta..."

Before his brain had time to tell Slater to STOP!, he reached over and planted a rough kiss on Zack's mouth.

_What are you doing? This is not..._

Slater silenced his conscience, but then realized what he was doing. He quickly pulled back with enough force that he fell off the bench.

"Slater... did you just...?"

"I gotta go. I'll talk to you later." Slater ran out of the locker room and was on his way home, even as Zack was still sitting on the wooded bench, wondering why had his best friend just kissed him?

That answer was easy enough. He'd figured Slater was at best bisexual, probably before anyone else, given the many hours they'd spent together, studying, or even just chilling at one of their houses. The second question was a little tougher for Zack, especially after he looked down... why was he hard?


	5. Phase Two

Slater sprinted through the streets of Bayside, way too embarrassed about what had just happened to go home right away. What had started out as friendly advice had quickly turned into something else. The fact that Zack had seemed to enjoy the kiss, despite what he'd said right after, did nothing to make A.C. feel any less like a perv. He had noticed the other reaction to the kiss, but that also did nothing to help the confusion that was making both of his heads swell.

What Slater didn't know was that Zack was having just as difficult of a time getting his head around what had happened as he was. His own reaction aside, Zack had never considered himself anything other than straight and getting kissed by his best friend... his best MALE friend was in itself more than he wanted to deal with. If you add the unwanted boner into the equation, well... 'nuff said.

"Well..." He was greeted at the door by quite possibly the last person he wanted to see at that moment.

"Go away!" Slater pushed his brother out of the doorway and took the stairs two at a time to his room.

"Everything not all roses and champagne?" Heath chuckled. Slater's only reply was a loud slamming of the bedroom door.

"Oh well." Heath shrugged "Dude probably did something stupid... I wonder if he has Kelly's phone number?"

While Slater was pounding his pillow, pissed off at both himself for doing what he did and at his brother for coercing him into doing what he did, Zack was still in the locker room at Bayside high. He had just completed the longest non-home shower in his life. Just sitting on the wooden bench had solved neither of his problems, so he opted for a more "hands-on" approach. While that took care of one of the two, there was still the matter of what he was doing to do about the cause of it. If things got physical, Slater was more than a match for him and if Zack went to his buddy's house now, that's exactly what he figured was going to occur.

Option two might have been to call Kelly, if not for their current relationship issues. Although on a good day, calling her with a "Hi. Slater just kissed me and I got hard. What should I do?" would be a ten on the awkwardness scale.

Option three, and this is where Zack realized how quickly he'd gotten desperate for some advice. Maybe if he talked to Heath he could get all of his problems with Kelly, and this new one with Slater, solved?

Sighing loudly, he reached for the phone in his school bag.

...

"Slater rez... Hey Zack, your bud is in the shower..."

"It's not him I want to talk to." Zack interrupted "It's you."

"Me?"

"Yeah. What the hell is going on? Are you trying to split up Kelly 'n me?"

Heath smiled. _All according to plan..._ "Maybe you should be asking Kelly that question?"

"Because that is what it looks like to me." Zack ignored Heath's response. "Kelly starts giving me the business AFTER hangin' out with you, then Slater kisses me at school. What does it look like to you?"

Heath did wonder what Slater kissing him did have to do with his problems with Kelly, but decided now was not the time to mention that little discrepancy.

"Looks like someone is starting to see things a little alternatively... if you get my drift."

"Dude, not funny. I've always been into Kelly."

"It ain't me you have to convince." Heath was trying to sound helpful, but under the surface he was high-fiving himself. "And it's not me you should be talking to."

"I- I guess you're right." Zack sighed

"Trust me."

"Okay. Thanks." Zack hung up, even though he was more confused than when he'd made the call.

Heath leaned back on the ned, a broad smile on his face. _A.C., you dog!_

"Who was that?"

"Zack." Heath snapped out of his daze, answering his brother with a wave of his hand. "He seems to have a lot of questions and apparently you kissing him just caused more."

_Oh, snap... _Slater prepared himself for a berating from his older brother.

"Good move, bro. I doubt that he's gonna tell anyone he let the school's star athlete plant one on him." Heath was actually surprised that his brother was going along. "Though if anyone else saw you, that's another story."

"We were alone." Slater stated

"Good. Next time, go a little further, but don't make it too obvious. Brush up against him in a crowded hallway, go for a grope, something like that."

"Okay." For all his unease, it was starting to look like Heath's plan was beginning to fall into place. The thought of the end result was exciting.

"Dude, that's awkward. Could you not bone up in front of me."

"My room, dude." Slater shrugged

"Touche." Heath rolled off his brother's bed and left, smiling.

...

Zack's phone call had done nothing to straighten his mind out.

_Could Heath be right... could I be switchin' sides?_

Zack's groin twitched. If his dick could talk, it would probably say that it didn't care as long as it got some action.

"Screw it, I need a shower." Zack informed the invisible man that was nearby. That is to say, he was talking out loud to himself.

He quickly stripped off and, trying to ignore that he was semi-erect, wrapped a towel around his waist before heading for some time to think. He'd taken a shower at school, yet he still felt dirty. However, getting clean was probably not going to be the only rubbing that was gonna happen. If this was like every other post sexual experience shower, at some point Zack was going to splatter his essence against one of the walls while reliving it.

...

Across town, Slater was in the same state, and 'coming' to the same conclusion. (Only moaning Zack's name instead of his own.) Any nervousness that he'd had when Heath had first suggested splitting up Zack and Kelly was rapidly shrinking. The fact that he'd actually kissed Zack and Zack had not attempted to pound his face into the dirt was encouraging. One question kept interrupting the thoughts of what might eventually happen. Could Heath actually convince Kelly to break up with Zack?

_Oh well… it'll be fun to find out._

…

Kelly was trying to do her homework on the bed when the familiar sound of pebbles against glass interrupted and scared her just a little.

She dropped the textbook onto the duvet and opened the window.

"What do you want? I'm still mad at you!" She announced

"Kelly; can I come in… please? I really think we need to talk."

"You do, do you?" Kelly folded her arms. "What makes you think I want to talk to you?"

"Uh… because I've had a crush on you since grade school and I don't want to lose you." Zack stammered. He hadn't prepared what he was going to say and he certainly didn't expect Kelly to be giving him the third degree on the lawn.

"You sure have a funny way of showing it." Kelly replied "Who do you think you are?"

"I don't know what to think any more!" Zack stated "Please can we talk?"

"We are talking."

"Not like this. I don't think your neighbors are interested in hearing about our relationship problems." Zack was getting desperate. Not to mention cold and it didn't help that it sounded like there was another major storm on the way. For some reason, thoughts of whether he closed his own bedroom window seemed to enter his mind.

"Well?"

Zack realized that he'd zoned out.

"What?"

"I said we can talk if you dump the bullshit attitude."

_Attitude… she's the one with attitude!_

"Okay. Can I come up?"

"Yeah… make it fast and don't get my carpet wet!"

Zack shimmied up the drain pipe and onto the lower part of the Kapowski's roof. As he had done before, he popped open the screen. However he almost fell off with it when several gusts of wind blew into him.

"Holy…" Zack wheeled his arms, but managed to stay on his feet.

"Stop fooling around Zack!" Kelly shouted

"Just give me a hand, okay?"

With Kelly's help, Zack climbed inside and together, they replaced the window screen.

"Talk fast… my parents will be back soon."

"Look, Kelly, I don't know what is going on with you and Slater's brother…"

"Nothing is going on. How many times do I have to tell you this before you'll believe me? He's a nice guy."

"A nice guy?" Zack repeated

"And we are just friends." Kelly put her hands on her hips. "Next question?"

"So if there's nothing between the two of you, explain the eyes you were making each other at the Max."

"We were having a conversation." Kelly stated

"You weren't talking. You were just staring at each other like a couple of lovesick teenagers… and might I remind you that he is way older than you." Zack threw his hands up in exasperation.

"So… maybe I like older guys." Kelly answered

That completely shut Zack up. "What did you just say?"

"Zack, that's not what I meant." Kelly realized her mistake as soon as the words had left her mouth.

"It sounded pretty plain to me."

"Zack, why would I dump you for Heath? I barely know him and I sure wouldn't want to mess up your friendship with Slater."

"I don't think there is any danger of that." Zack mumbled "He kissed me in the locker room earlier."

Too late, he also realized he said something stupid.

"He what? No way Zack, you're kidding me."

"I wish." Zack was starting to make some sense, but as usual he still managed to get most things wrong. "So was that part of the plan… you dump me for Heath so Slater can get with me?"

"What plan?" Kelly was starting to lose what little patience she had left. "There was no plan."

"Of course there was. You probably started thinking it up while you two were undressing each other with your eyes over milkshakes!" Zack's eyes widened. "You break up with me so Slater can make a move. I see it all. He plays the best friend trying to console me over a breakup and hopes that I'll end up in his bed."

"Zack, you're being ridiculous." Kelly said "If you don't stop with this nonsense, I'm gonna make you leave."

"Don't worry about that. I'm already leaving." Zack retorted

"If that's how you're gonna be, then we're through. Finished, Zack Morris, do you understand?"

"Fine with me. Just don't let me catch you with Heath."

"I'll see whoever the hell I want to and there is nothing you can do to stop me! Now get out!"

Had the upstairs window been open, Kelly would've gladly pushed Zack through it.

"Fine." Zack climbed out. "Kelly Kapowski, we are finished!"

Not saying another word, Zack climbed down the tree and ran down the street. Kelly watched him for only a moment before replacing the window screen and returning to her school work. "You are such an ass, Zack Morris!" Kelly was soon nose-deep in her work.

…

Another storm was brewing. One that would make the fight with Kelly seem like a spring drizzle. Zack could see the clouds forming, even in the night sky.

"You handled that real well, Morris." He chided himself. "Now she really will hook up with Heath."

_Isn't that what you wanted?_

Zack just ran his hand through his hair in disgust. His mind was telling him all sorts of things that he didn't want to think about, much less admit to.

"I am not attracted to guys… much less Slater." He said out loud.

_Then why are you walking past his house?_

"I am not… oh crap."

_Just keep fooling yourself and walk on by… you can do it. You just said you're not into guys, so just keep going…_

Zack's conversations with his conscience often ended with him doing something that he would later regret. Walking up the driveway of Slater's house might qualify, especially if the wrong person answered the door. But hey, at least he could use the excuse about the weather.

He knocked on the door just as the sky was lit by a brilliant lightning bolt. The thunder followed, making him jump slightly.

He waited. Soon he heard footsteps and the door was opened. It was Heath.

"Morris… what you doin' here, bay-bee?"

"Fuck you. You want Kelly, she's all yours." Zack spat.

"What happened?" Heath played it cool.

"I confronted her. She said she and you were just friends, but I know I'm being lied to." Zack replied

"Oh. I guess it wouldn't help if I said she was tellin' you the truth, huh?"

"Shove it, hick. Is Slater home?"

"Yeah, he's in his room. Go on up." Despite Zack's chill reception, Heath was not ready to celebrate yet. But he was close. He waited until Zack was out of sight and he heard a bedroom door open and close before he showed what he was really thinking.

"Now for step two." Doing a fist-pump, he pulled out his cellphone. He found the number under "K" and dialed.

"Hi, Kelly. It's Heath. I just heard. I'm here if you need to talk. You have my number. Talk to ya later. Bye."

He closed the phone and leaned against the wall. "Step three… here we come."

**TBC**

**_Sorry for the delay, but ideas haven't been flowing very well recently. The next chapter will feature some real action, I'm just not going to tell you who!_  
**


	6. Breakthrough

High School: if you look up synonyms for it in most reputable dictionaries, you will not find the most appropriate word: awkward. After Zack and Kelly's blow-up the night before, that was how Kelly and Jessie felt. Listening to Kelly's version of the events, she made it sound like Zack had tried to rape her or something and to hear Zack; he was the perfect gentleman while Kelly was nothing more than a stark-raving bitch.

The only good thing… Screech wasn't around to put his two cents in.

…

At one end of the cafeteria sat Zack and Slater. At the other end sat the three girls. Conspicuous by his absence was Heath, but like Screech, his presence would cause more problems than solutions.

"What the hell am I supposed to do?" Zack asked "Like, Kelly's been the only girl I've ever wanted."

Slater had a few suggestions to answer, but they all involved being alone together and neither wearing a stitch. "Dude, if she was half as bad as you said, then maybe you better move on." _To me…_

"Easy for you to say. You and Jessie can turn it on and off like a light switch." Zack

twirled his mashed potatoes around.

"That ain't necessarily good, bro." Slater replied

"Yeah? Seems to me that… aw, crap!" Zack's attention was distracted.

"What's the problem now, Preppie?"  
"It's that brother of yours. Y'know, ever since he's been here, things have been back-asswards."

"Hey!" Slater shouted "It ain't my fault."

"I'm going to have a word with him. It's about time he explains himself." Zack stood, just in time to see Heath stop at the girls table. After saying something to Kelly, she nodded and Heath sat down beside her.

"Now isn't the best time, Morris." Slater shook his head, but in his mind he was thinking, "Smooth move."

Zack looked over. With the equivalent of heat-seeking missiles shooting from his eyes, Slater knew that a conversation between his best friend and his brother/and or both his ex would end up as Bayside High's version of World War III.

"Dude, let's take a walk." Slater suggested

"We got class in twenty minutes." Zack alternated his glare between the clock and Kelly now.

"So? "C'mon, Preppie. Stewin' like this ain't gonna help any of you, especially if you want to get back with Kelly." Almost forcefully, Slater escorted Zack from the cafeteria.

Heath watched the pair leave, as did Kelly.

"I think Zack thinks that I deliberately stole ya, baby."

"Let him think that. Zack Morris is a jerk!"

"Okay. But what…"

"If I wanna hang out with you, then Zack Morris can go to hell if he has a problem with it. If he thinks that there is something between us, then maybe there should be?"

Heath looked right at Kelly, unsure if she was being serious.

"I can live with that." He nodded

…

Despite only having twenty minutes until history, neither Slater nor Zack were in any rush to return to school. In fact, Slater seemed to focus on getting as far away from the building as possible.

"I know you'll think I've gone nuts for sayin' this, but shouldn't we be getting back." Zack looked over his shoulder at the campus. "Dewey'll freak if we miss class."

"Preppie, you have gone nuts." Slater stated "Dewey'll go nuts anyway if you do what I think you're gonna do."

"Which is what?"

"Try to get Kelly back." Slater leaned against a section of disused corrugated pipe and crossed his arms.

"Dude…"

Slater quickly interrupted him. "If you're gonna tell me that you are not that dumb, should I remind you of all the stupid stunts you've pulled over the years."

Zack blushed, but quickly fired back a retort. "You're one to talk. You've done your share of dumb things at Bayside."

Slater smirked. "Name one."

"How about kissing me in the locker room!" Zack responded "That was dumb."

Slater's mind was racing. He wanted to discuss that with Zack, but hadn't figured out how to bring it up. But now, Zack had done all his work for him.

"You liked it Preppie!" Slater fired back.

"Did not. Dude, you're a dude and I'm a dude. Stuff like that shouldn't happen."

"The boner in your pants said otherwise." Slater smirked again.

Zack felt his face get hot.

"Nothing to be ashamed about. A lotta guys would love to get with this." Slater pointed to his chiseled torso.

"But I am not a lot of guys. I love Kelly."

"I ain't the one you have to convince." Slater answered

'What the hell are you doing?' His libido yelled at his brain. 'Stop trying to reunite him and start trying to get him out of his jeans!'

"You know what I think? I think you're afraid to admit that maybe you liked it." Slater didn't give Zack time to answer his question.

"If you tell anyone, I'll beat the hell out of ya." Zack threatened, going as far as standing in Slater's face.

"Will not, Preppie. You've tried once already."

"And I'll try again." To Slater's surprise, Zack did swing. Slater easily stepped to one side and Zack hit nothing but air.

"Rookie. If you wanna fight, I'll show you how a real man fights."

"A real man?" Zack taunted him. "Remember, I'm not the one who goes around kissing guys."

"But you're the one who likes getting kissed by guys." Slater waited for Zack to take another shot at him. _What is he waiting for?_

Zack swung, but very clumsily. He was nowhere close to hitting Slater. Looking back, it seemed that he was missing intentionally… but why?

Zack's momentum took him far to the right and he almost lost his balance. Conveniently, Slater was there to catch him.

"Had enough?" Slater growled. Both he and Zack were breathing heavily, their face inches apart.

"Have you?" The look in Zack's eyes, and the way his cheeks were flushed was driving Slater crazy. He wanted to give in, to conquer Zack's mouth, but his mind told him to think about what he was doing. Slater did, for about two seconds.

He mashed his lips against Zack's.

Zack was stunned by this. Until Slater kissed him, he had been positive that he was going to be able to dispel anything that his friend was going to say. He had not counted on Slater becoming a wild beast and being ravaged by his talented mouth. Even Zack had to admit that his friend kissed better than most girls.

The shock wore off when Slater tried to stick his tongue in Zack's mouth. He pushed Slater back.

"Slater… I mean… what the… I don't…" Zack stuttered "What the hell, man?"

Slater looked at his friend with a mixture of horror and lust on his face.

"Look, let me spell this out. I ain't into you in that way." Zack folded his arms. "If you can't see that, then fuck you."

Slater was taken aback by the sudden outburst.

"I am going to get Kelly back and there is nothing that you or that brother of yours can do about it." Zack wiped the back of his hand across his mouth. "Now I never thought I would say this, but I am going to class."

Watching Zack walk away, Slater's heart dropped to somewhere between his knees and the tops of his shoes. He quickly called Heath, hoping for some advice, but there was no answer. Despite his earlier reservations, his brother's plot had worked and Slater had intended to see where it went. But this? Zack's rejection hurt as much as Jessie's.

Both of them arrived back at school in time for Mr. Dewey's class; Slater a little closer to last bell than Zack for obvious reasons. They did not say one word to each other for the rest of the school day, nor at The Max afterward.

Zack paced his bedroom for several hours, trying to figure out just what the hell was going on. The master planner was torn in several directions. He desperately wanted Kelly back, but had no idea how to do this.

It was pitch dark when Zack snuck out of his house and walked across town to Kelly's; a trip he had made under the cover of darkness many times before. Usually under more pleasant circumstances, but this time it was all about swallowing his pride for Zack.

He climbed up on the roof and, while raising his hand to knock on the window, saw something that almost made him fall to the ground. Kelly… HIS Kelly was in the arms of another man!

…

When Kelly had first suggested that maybe there should be something between herself and Heath, the elder Slater brother had taken it as small talk. Then Kelly invited him over to 'study' after dinner and Heath started to wonder.

Study? Yeah, for about ten minutes before Kelly tossed her books aside and started asking a lot of questions about Heath's past, as well as all the girls in it.

Heath answered as best he could, but Kelly got more personal until the colour of Heath's skin matched his hair. He was about to ask why she was so curious about his sexual past when she grabbed him by his long locks and pulled their mouths together.

"Alright!" Slater silently cheered. He was aware of what had happened with his brother and Zack earlier thanks to an angry tirade just before leaving to study with the pretty young thing. He did not know that Zack was standing on the cupola, mouth wide open, looking at the two of them like a lion ready to prey on a pair of gazelles.

Kelly noticed, but she didn't care. As far as she was concerned, she and Zack were done like dinner. If anything, seeing her ex's expression encouraged her to amp it up. She did; pulling Heath on top of her.

That was all Zack needed to see. He stormed back to his house, muttering curses under his breath the whole time.

"If that's how she wants to do it, then fine. Two can play at this game." He growled

It was getting rather late. His parents were going to bust him for curfew if he wasn't home soon, but Zack really didn't care. He was focused on one thing and that was hurting Kelly as bad as it had hurt him to see her with Heath.

"Slater, you up?" He almost dropped his phone on the ground. That would've been the perfect ending to the evening.

"Yeah, but…"

"No buts." Zack cut him off, the images in his mind making him see red. "I'm coming over."

…

Slater stared at the phone. It was not like Zack to end a conversation that quickly, but the thought of having the house alone with him was exciting at the very least.

"Something must've really gone wrong." He muttered to himself.

A banging on the door quickly interrupted Slater's one-on-one with himself. Trying not to seem eager, or at least respectful, Slater answered the door. The respectful part did not stop him from quickly changing into a tight sleeveless and his favorite pair of acid-washed jeans.

Looking at Zack on his front step was interesting. Slater didn't know if his friend was going to start crying or take a swing at the nearest object. The way Zack had his fists at his side that might have already happened.

"What's up, Preppie…"

"Not here, Slater." Zack pushed inside and stormed directly upstairs.

Slater shrugged, and then followed a few steps behind Zack. Once they were both seated, Slater repeated his question.

Zack paused for only a second or two before, in one long rambling sentence, explained what he'd seen in Kelly's window.

"…pulls your brother on top. That's when I left." Zack finally stopped to take a breath.

Slater looked at Zack; it was hard for him to believe what he'd just heard, but it didn't surprise him.

"This is where you say something." Zack barked

"Whaddaya want me to say, Morris? It's obvious that Kelly's moved on. I've been tellin' ya this for days now." It wasn't exactly days, but it was close enough in Slater's mind.

"So what do I do now?" Zack asked

_Is he really asking me this? _"You should probably move on as well." Slater shrugged

"I guess so." Zack stared at his lap, then back up at his friend. "Do you want me to take my clothes off or do you want to do it?"

**TBC**

_Sorry for the lack of actual 'action', but the chapter would've been too long. Anyway, I like to keep my readers hanging… pun intended._


	7. Coming or Going?

Slater did a double-take. He honestly could not believe what he had just heard. Well neither could Zack, and he'd been the one to say it.

"You serious?" Slater asked

Now Zack hesitated. "Yeah, Slater I am." He finally said, ending with a huge sigh of relief. "It looks like Kelly's gone with your brother and I really need to be touched now. You gonna strip me?"

"I guess." Slater was still trying to seem calm about the whole thing.

"One condition, though." Zack sighed again.

"Anything, preppie."

"I get to strip you before anything else happens."

"Deal." Slater agreed immediately, and then went over to lock his bedroom door. "This is our time."

Slater sat down on the bed next to Zack. He was too nervous to say anything, and so was Zack. Slater took a deep breath, then started to unbutton Zack's shirt. Zack flinched a little at first, but quickly relaxed and allowed Slater to peel off his shirt, then his socks and shoes.

Slater gently pushed Zack back on his bed, then climbed between his best friend's legs. "You still want to go through with this, Morris?"

"Slater, if we don't, it'll be another night of jerking off for both of us." Zack answered with a smile.

His hands still shaking a little, Slater undid Zack's belt and pulled it free of his jeans. He threw it on the floor with the rest of his clothes, then popped the button and pulled down the zipper.

"Lift up, preppie."

Zack instantly did so and his jeans quickly joined the growing pile on the floor. He closed his eyes and waited for Slater to remove his last garment. When that didn't happen right away, Zack opened them again. Slater was staring at him with a look that he didn't recognize.

"Y'okay?"

"Yeah, Morris. I'm just takin' my time. This might not happen again so I'm gonna enjoy it." Slater smiled goofily.

Zack closed his eyes again and waited. Soon enough, he felt the cotton cloth being pulled from his lower regions. Now he was completely naked and vulnerable in front of his best friend and to Zack's surprise, that vulnerability was starting to turn him on.

"You still want to strip me first or can I take care of you?"

Zack exhaled. He knew he was already semi-hard. He looked down at his growing hard-on, then back up at Slater.

"No problem, preppie." Slater stood and pulled off his own shirt. The rest of his clothes quickly followed. Unlike Zack, he was already completely hard and it pointed right at him.

He jumped on the bed next to Zack and whispered in his ear. "I'm gonna make you come."

Bam! Instant total hard-on for Morris.

Slater took a deep breath then reached for Zack's twitching penis. Just the first touch was enough to almost send his arousal into the upper atmosphere. He gave it a few slow strokes, just like he always did in his fantasies, and watched Zack's face for a sign that he was either really into it or really good at acting. If Zack was just toying with him, and given some of the schemes he'd run at Bayside anything was possible, then a fight like one in the hall at school might actually happen. Here. In his bedroom. With them both naked and boned up.

Zack suddenly tensed up. Slater immediately stopped and took his hand back. Already thinking scam, he waited for Zack to make a move.

"Why'd you stop?"

That was not what Slater expected to hear.

"I… uh… why'd you tense up?" He answered Zack's question with one of his own.

"Duh…" Zack pointed to his rod; visibly throbbing and covered in clear fluid. "For the number of times you've probably done this to yourself, you should know when someone is about to blow his load."

Slater smirked. "Well…"

"I know you do, so get back to it." Zack tried to look intimidating. Not easy under most circumstances, especially these.

Slater sighed with relief. Since he was now absolutely sure that Zack was not simply going along, he got back to work; determined to give him the best he could. It didn't take too long before Zack arched his entire lower body off the bed and the trickles of clear fluid turned into three streams of thick whiteness. After the last spurt, Slater slowed down again. Enough to still make it feel good, but still fast enough to milk anything that was still inside his friend. When he was satisfied that Zack had really and truly come all he could, he stopped and lay down beside him.

"How was that?" In his anxiety to make sure Zack wasn't totally wigged out, his own needs were quickly forgotten.

"Wow." Zack sighed

"Better than Kelly?" Slater asked

Zack frowned. "I wouldn't know." He answered with a hint of regret.

"Oh, sorry." Slater quickly apologized

Zack sighed once more. "It doesn't matter right now." He said

There was a moment of silence between the two boys while Zack looked thoughtful. After being friends for so long, Slater knew what that expression meant.

"Wonderin' what this means, Preppie?"

"Honestly, I dunno. Does this mean we're now together?" Zack looked very confused.

"It means whatever you want it to mean." Slater answered "I've wanted you for so long, but I'm not gonna force you to go any faster than you want to. Hell, if you decide you want to go back to Kelly…"

"Doubt it." Zack scowled "I am pretty sure that she doesn't want anything to do with me anymore. She's probably fucking your brother as we're lying here."

"Sheesh, Morris. That is not what I want to be thinking about right now." Slater playfully punched Zack on the arm.

"Oh?" Zack flashed his devious look at Slater. "What do you want to be thinking about right now?"

"Well…" Slater pointed to his own erection.

Zack thought about it for maybe one second. "Hell, if it looks half as good as it feels…" He reached for Slater and all thoughts of ex-girlfriends doing things with devious older brothers was quickly banished from both boys minds.

…

Once Heath and Kelly broke the kiss, they stared into each other's eyes.

"Heath, I don't know if this is the right time to say this." Kelly looked at her hands. "But…"

"What, babe?"

Kelly blushed. There was something about the red-haired dude with an accent that would make most women swoon that was making her very light-headed.

"If this is about Zack…"

"It is… and it isn't." Kelly returned to staring at her hands, now wringing them in her lap. "I've been friends with Zack for so long, but…"

"Kelly, I've only known you for a very short time, but you don't have to worry about saying anything to me. Even if it is as mistaken-filled as you want to go back to Zack; a guy I might add hasn't been completely truthful with you." Heath stated. He wanted to add a lot more to that, but even mentioning what he was pretty sure had happened or was about to happen between Slater and Zack might seem really shallow.

"Even if I still want Zack as a friend?"

_No shock there… should I tell her Zack saw us? Nah…_

"It's your life. I'm just a passerby on that bus ride." Heath shrugged

"I'm glad you're cool."

"Always."

"Because… because…"

"Because what?"

"Because, I think I want to lose my virginity to you." The blush was back, darker than the first time.

_YES! YES! YES!_

…

Zack awoke with a grunt. Right away, he noticed the surroundings were off. He was not in his warm bed in his own home, but he quickly figured out exactly where he was. It was not the first time he'd fallen asleep in Slater's bed.

He rolled over and started. Slater was staring at him.

"Morning, Preppie. Sleep well?" He asked sweetly.

"Yeah." Zack yawned, and then wiped some of the crud from the corners of his eyes. "What time is it?"

"Almost nine o'clock." Slater smiled

"Shit!" Zack threw back the covers. "We're gonna be late for school!" A sudden chill on his private parts soon made him regret that idea.

"Relax, Morris. It's Saturday." Slater responded with a goofy smile.

"Oh." Zack answered "I knew that."

"Liar." Slater chuckled into the blankets.

Realizing that since there was no school and he was also literally freezing his balls off, Zack climbed back under the covers. Everything that had happened in the past day came back to him in a rush of pleasure, pain, and confusion. He must've been really lost in his thoughts since Slater had to ask him five times what he was thinking about before he heard him.

"Just stuff." He couldn't put his thoughts into words, not even to the man whom he'd just shared himself with.

"Cool." Slater answered, laying back on this pillow and lacing his fingers together behind his head. "Lunch at the Max says your head and your heart are sending you different messages."

"Ya know?"

"Been there, Morris. You should know that." Slater answered

"So what do I do?"

Slater shrugged. "Figure out which head you want to listen to and go from there, Morris. Otherwise… mmf."

It didn't take long for Zack to decide. The kiss to a surprised Slater sealed that. He was going to go with what was happening at the moment and worry about everything else later.

TBC

**A.N. : Sorry for the wait, but I was torn between a marathon make out session or just something sweet for Zack's first time. I hope this was worth it.**


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